Kelly McCord Photography Blog

I'm here!! I just had a baby!

It's true, I'm here and alive, and I am still a photographer, despite not having blogged about any of the recent portrait shoots or weddings I've done. I'm not gone,  I'm just on maternity leave with my beautiful new son (which brings total McCord kids to a [final] three). So I am still shooting family/engagement portraits (even on maternity leave) and I'm shooting weddings later in the year, and am signing up couples for weddings in 2012. I also just created a facebook page for Kelly McCord Photography, and despite being on maternity leave, am planning on starting to blog again very soon. Thanks for your patience, and check back soon to see some of my recent weddings and photo shoots.

 Here's Jack:

V-B-S is F-U-N

Every year for the last at least 20+ years of my life, (with a break of a few years when I was away at college), basically since sixth grade, I've been volunteering at our church's Vacation Bible School. Specifically for the last 4-5 (or six?) years, I've volunteered as the VBS Photography Director, and have had the privilege of shooting the 250+ kids for the entire week; every day, all day. It's exhilerating, exhausting and SO fantastic that I get a chance to volunteer for (and serve) the kids every year. I love it so much, and it's an ongoing debate whether we (the adult volunteers), or the kids (at the camp) have more fun , and I'd say it's a wash -- we all have a great time. It really is something very near and dear to my heart, and we eargerly anticipate the week-long fun every year. In fact, it doesn't feel like summer until we've experienced VBS.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel comes every year, to document and write about all the F-U-N that we have, and this year was no exception. What's kind of fun (for me, anyway) is that the picture they in the paper this year was of me!  So, if you've been wondering where I've been, this photo is a good illustration of what I get to do all week.  And while VBS is D-U-N, =) wedding season has ramped up, so while I've been very bad at updating my blog, I'll try and do better, despite being in the midst of my busiest time of year. I still haven't told you about so many of the fun weddings and cool portrait sessions I've shot; so stay tuned for lots more photographic phun! =)

Santa Cruz Mountain Fires, or "Summit Fire"

I took a shot of the plumes of smoke from my mom and dad's house just an hour ago.  Check out the smoke!

The fire is raging a path between where we are right now (mom and dad's house), and our house (in the Corralitos/Watsonville/152 area).  You can smell the smoke, and the wind is NUTS right now.  It is a serious fire, and they just reported on the news that it's expected to quadruple in size (and it's gone from 100 acres to 2,000 in just a few hours).  The winds are blowing like the Santa Ana's, about 40mph, which is unheard of here, and at this time of year.

Here's a map of where we are, at mom and dad's right now, in comparison to the fire, so you can get an idea of where I took the photo. The red circle is where they're reporting the fire:

And they JUST reported on the news that they're evacuating all of Corralitos, which is CRAZY as it's super-populated (and close to our house).

Out of Office For A Few Days

Just a quick note to let my clients who read this blog know that I'm going to be out of the office for the next couple of days. There has been a death in the family.  I'll be back in the office hopefully by Tuesday, possibly Wednesday at the latest.  If you have any questions, in the meantime, please feel free to send me an email, and I'll respond when I get back into the office.  Thank you for your understanding at this time.

I Was Quoted!

I keep forgetting to blog about how I was quoted in WedPix, a wedding photography magazine devoted to wedding photojournalism. I never want to post it on one of my weddings posts, and I couldn't figure out where else to put it. So to heck with it.  Here's the link to the article I was quoted in Click here to go read the article. It discusses the way photographers see patterns, etc., and they called and interviewed me because of one of my photos that won an award (which, surprise(!) had repetition in it! I know! Go figure!). If you want to hear more about the image, that made them interview me, you can read/go see it here.

Like I said, I feel weird tooting my own horn, but there it is. =)

Toot. Toot.

Note To My Clients...

I have been out of the office for the past 3 1/2, almost 4 weeks, (which, truth be told. was much longer than I'd planned), due to some health-related issues, and Christmas/New Years.  I want you all to know I have not disappeared, I am not ignoring you, and I haven't been kidnapped, I have just not been in the office.  I started back in the office yesterday, and have begun going through the hundreds thousands(?) (man I hate spam!) of emails, and voicemails, and I'm going through them all as fast as I can, but at the same time, I want to answer emails and your calls thoroughly, so it's taking a little longer than I'd anticipated.

So, I just wanted to let everyone know that if you've called or emailed in the past 3 1/2 weeks, that I'm working on getting back to you.  There are a lot of people to respond to, via email and phone call, and so if you haven't heard back, please know that I'm hoping to return all emails and phone calls  this week.  Thank you so much for your patience and understanding, and I'm looking forward to catching up with all of you!! Also, just as an FYI, I'm uploading weddings back-to-back, because even though I was technically 'out' of the office, I was editing weddings (thank goodness for laptops),  and wedding uploads generally take about 48 hours to upload. I'm not kidding; when you consider most weddings hover around 1,000 images, and are between 2-5 MB's each, (and dropped connections, etc., which happens much more often than I'd like), it's a very long process. I'm uploading in the order I shot, so hopefully it won't take too long, but I've already begun the uploading, so I'll hopefully be posting links soon, as they continue to be uploaded.

Also, here's our family Christmas card, if you'd like to see a personal, 'year in review'.  As always, just click on the photos if you want to see them larger (and yes, we put photos on every single side of our cards, you shouldn't be surprise). =)

   

    

Also,  Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'm so thankful for so many things in my life; my girls, my husband, my family and friends, and my job. I'm so thankful that I get to do something I love so much, as a career! It's a true blessing, and I am really so very grateful for  it. Thanks to all of you who have asked me to be a part of your lives this year!!

If you're trying to reach me, we're celebrating Thanksgiving with family, but I will be back in the office next week!

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

Missing Messages, Dr. Phil and My So-Called-Life...

Just a quick note to let all my clients know, if you've tried calling me in the last week, to two weeks, I've switched phone services, and it's resulted in some missed calls, and some messages that weren't received.  I'm very sorry for this, and it should be all squared awayvery soon!  Email is the best way to reach me, so drop me a line if you need me, and I'll call you back!!  And I'll be posting another shoot or wedding very soon.

I have SO much to tell you all; I just shot another celebrity wedding, and some of my wedding photos from a few months ago are going to be on Dr. Phil, and some of my other photos are going to be in a magazine, and a gazillion other things to update you on, but alas, not at this moment, but I promise to write very soon about all of these fun (and crazy!) things!!

And I'm starting to book up for next summer, so if you're wanting me to shoot your next wedding, drop me a line, so we can get you on the calendar!!

And because I'm me, there has to be at least one photo in every blog, so  we're breaking form for this post, with a bunch of personal shots of (crazy! I know! I do actually have a personal life) me and my family.  I've got so much more where these came from, (our trip to San Francisco, going to the SC County Fair, the girls first days of school, etc., etc.), but I don't have time to edit all of them at the moment, so I just grabbed a few highlights (with the hope to have more of the family shots posted fairly soon-ish, or at least time to go through all of them). And these aren't super-artistic, or anything of the sort, these are more in more in the vein of  I'm-so-proud-of-my-kids-aren't-they-the-cutest-ever
type of mom photos. But what can I say??  They are the cutest kids ever.  There seem to be a lot of sequence-type shots in here, I'm not entirely sure why, but there you go.

Just as the cobblers kids never had any shoes, so too, does the photographer never have formal portraits of her own family.  These days, I'm just happy if we're all in the same general vicinity together and I'm able to get a shot or two of my girlies,  which is why I'm so joyfully posting 'family album,' type shots, because my kids and husband mean more to me than anything, and yet, family life has definitely taken a hit with all my working for the past five months.  Needless to say, I can't wait for our impending  family vacation to Ireland!!  So enjoy some of my more personal shots, and I'll post more of my professional-type stuff soon...

And there are a bunch more family photos after the jump, to see them, click on 'continue reading...' below.

Chichenitza, My Birthday, Cancun, Isla de Mujeres and White Sand Beaches

As I posted below, I was going to do one slideshow, to show my first international destination wedding, on Isla de Mujeres, in Cancun. However, I had such a hard time finding a song that would be both sweet and romantic enough to represent Matt and Katt, and also fun and upbeat, to show our day-trip to Chichenitza. And then I decided to throw some of my birthday shots in (since that's where I was when I had my birthday) for my friends to see, that it turned into two slideshows.  One is of Kate and Matt's beautiful wedding day, on Isla de Mujeres, on Zama Beach (which is a quick 20-ish minute trip over by ferry from Cancun), and one that shows a few shots from my birthday, the hotel, and our day-trip to Chichenitza, with Kate, Matt and their friends (Tom and Joette, who we also fell in love with -- incidentally, if you're reading this, would love to hear from you, I lost your emails on the trip back to the U.S., so if you've got a moment, I'd love to say hi!), and their parents.  So, without further ado, I give  you:

My birthday in Cancun, (which we actually spent on Isla de Mujeres, scouting out the ceremony location), the Marriott, in Cancun, and the day-trip to Chichenitza.  Click here to see the birthday/Isla/Chichenitza slideshow...

And, even more exciting (for me), Kate and Matt's wedding slideshow.  Like I gushed said in the post below, I was so blessed and honored to be asked (and flown down) to be part of their special day, and I absolutely love both Kate and Matt, they are some of the kindest, most generous people I've ever shot, and of course, they're both super-cute, so that makes for nice pictures. =) Click here to see the wedding slideshow.

Also, just a technical aside, if you watch both slideshows you'll notice that the Chichenitza slideshow is a lot bigger, and the reason for this is, I was almost done with the wedding slideshow, when I had some issues with the program I use, and went and found there was an upgrade, so I downloaded it, and the upgraded version had the ability to make larger slideshows (YAY!!!), but I had already basically finished Matt and Kates, and these slideshows take SO long to make (we're talking days), that the thought of doing it all over again, just to be a bit bigger was just more than I could take, so the size of the slideshow in no way reflect my love of their wedding photos!  I hope you enjoy them.

Also, I need to talk about my birthday, and Kimmy for just a moment.  Despite this being the first birthday I hadn't spent with Ross in 10 years (which made it a little hard for me), Kim made sure I had a good day. We had room service for breakfast, and Kim proceeded to whip out a birthday hat and plop in on  my head along with one for her (you'll see me in the slideshow paying the room service with my hat on, and bedhead and jammies).  She schlepped a birthday gift and card for me, as well, to make sure I had something to open.  Now that's a friend.  The day was really wonderful, like I said in the previous post, we spent the afternoon, after we'd scouted out Zama Beach for the wedding (this is on the island, Isla de Mujeres, that we took a ferry to), floating and playing in the surf, collecting a myriad of shells, (that's a portion of the shells we collected, in the photo below), jumping off the dock (that you see in the slideshow, and the photos in the post below), having lunch on chaise lounges in our suits, beach-side, and laid in the sun for just a bit, before we had to hoof it back over to the mainland, where we were JUST in time for our 'couples' massage (which we still giggle about).  And despite the not-so-great lobster dinner, that made us both feel sick, it was still a great day.  I was able to relax, and just be in the moment, which given that this was a work trip, should've been harder, but Kimmy made it really easy for me.  That, combined with the thrill and fun of driving like a maniac all across the island in our golf cart, and her great company made it a wonderful birthday to remember, despite the fact that I spent a large part of it working.  And of course, I can't forget Kate and Matt, who put us up in a great room at the Marriott, which made the stay just as pleasant as could be. 

And not only is Kim my dear friend, but she is a great assistant.  We've been shooting together for awhile now, and she really anticipates me and my needs, helps me stay calm under pressure, and generally just makes shooting even more fun for me. I am so grateful that she's my  assistant this year (not to take anything away from my other previous/current assistants, of course).  And she really worked her tail off (well, we both did), during our trip, which I can go into more of later, suffice it to say, she was incredible, and a total trooper, and I truly couldn't have done it without her (besides the fact, that I really just like being with her, in general).

We had a great trip, and despite some bumps and bruises (remind me to tell you all about the mile run through LAX carrying all of my equipment),  we had a great time, and I'm indebted to her, and thrilled that Kate and Matt wanted me enough to have Kim and I join them , and be a part of their big day. We both felt incredibly blessed to be there, and be there however we could for Kate, (whether photographically, or otherwise).  I would love to shoot more destination weddings, both international and otherwise.  It was an adventure, and one I'd have fun doing again, for sure.  Phew, this is a much longer post than I intended, but there you have it. I hope you enjoy the slideshows of the journey, I had a fun time making them.

Oh! And one more note, the song playing on the wedding slideshow is called, "The Luckiest," by Ben Folds, and it might be one of the best 'love songs' I've ever heard in my life.  Seriously, watch the show just to listen to the song, it's so beautiful.

Kate and Matt en Cancun!

 

In May, Kim and I flew down to Cancun, Mexico to shoot Kate and Matt's destination wedding, on Isla de Mujeres, in Cancun, Mexico.  It was quite an incredible experience, and I was thrilled to be asked, and to be able to do it!  It was a crazy, mad-cap trip, which I can go into in more detail later, but getting to know Matt and Kate, and their friends and family was a privilege and honor that I won't soon forget.  I have so many favorites, this is going to be a large post. First of all, I first have to thank my cousin Mia, for putting me in contact with Kate and Matt. I'm completely indebted to her, for the introduction.

Being in Mexico, with Kim was a hoot, and we had a good time, especially on my birthday, where we rode over on the ferry to Isla de Mujeres, to scope out the ceremony and reception location (Zama Beach Resort, a gorgeous place for a wedding).  We spent the afternoon riding around like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride on the golf cart that Kate and Matt had reserved for us, and spent the afternoon on the beach (at Zama Resort), in our bathing suits, jumping off the dock, looking for shells and swimming around on the white sand beach.  We had lunch on the beach, and after the ferry ride back to mainland Cancun, had a 'couples' massage (which cracked us up to no end), having a dinner by the ocean and an early night to bed, to wake up for our trip the next morning.

On Wenesday, we met Kate, Matt and their friends and family, and embarked on the 3-hour ride to Chichenitza.  It was incredible to see the sites I'd heard so much about, they were incredible to see, and I was happy to record Kate and Matt's day there, for them with their friends and family.  After that, every headed back to the hotel to do their own thing for the evening. Kimmy and I went to the beach for a while, and she fell asleep while I read, with the gorgeous waves lapping the incredibly white-sand beach.  We had dinner  in our rooms, and went to bed early to prep for the wedding the next day.

Kim and I went over to Isla de Mujeres early in the day, to meet Kate and Matt, and do their portrait session, before the ceremony started, and we had a great time riding around on the golf carts, all over Isla de Mujeres, shooting pictures down small alleys, on craggy rock, in front of crazy-bright, fabulously painted buildings for a couple hours.  At the ceremony, Kate held a simple bouquet of calla lillies, and  walked down the beach aisle to her groom, to the sounds of a small group of mariachi. The ceremony was short and sweet (and absolutely beautiful, in front of the pier, and the crystal-clear blue water).   Surrounded by their family and friends, it was lovely to watch, and I felt privileged to be there.  After the ceremony, we took some more portraits, with everyone there, and a few more of Kate and Matt, on the dock, and then it was time for a delicious Mexican dinner under the stars, with the beach and water in the foreground.  It was a great time, and I know I keep saying it, but I felt privileged to be asked to be there, and shoot the day, and I felt like I not only got to see a wonderful time in their lives, but I made new friends, as well. 

I'm in the process of making a slideshow, which includes some of the photos from the day trip, the day before the wedding, that we took to Chichenitza.  When the slideshow is up, I'll post it here, but in the meantime, a few of my favorites are also featured here, and there will be many more after the jump....

EDIT: To see the slideshow, go to next post, by clicking here...